Mum and I are cruising towards Torquay beach when a blue ribbon of Southern Ocean comes into sight, and the memories flood back: Eating fish and chips while wrapped in a towel, sucking on sunny boys in the back of a stinking hot station wagon, and, of course, carefully considering the options at the Mr Whippy van.
There’s no van today, so we head to Frenchy’s ice-cream parlour on the Esplanade. The Victorian institution opened in 1962 as a diner to feed hungry surfers and is still run by the granddaughter of the original owners. It is, perhaps, a little early for ice cream, even if we are on an impromptu holiday. So, we leave our car and content ourselves with a walk along the beach before our day of ‘work’.
The assignment was easy to accept. Would I test drive a Chery Tiggo 8 Super Hybrid along the Great Ocean Road with mum? We spent many summers on Victoria’s craggy, south-west coast when I was a kid, and were both eager to return. The cliff-side drive begins in Torquay, about 80 minutes from Melbourne, and continues for 243km to Allansford.
The road is actually a war memorial constructed in 1919 to honour the soldiers who fought in WWI. With its towering cliffs and rock formations, it’s certainly majestic. But it’s also a beach-lover’s playground and a gastronomical dream. I’m looking forward to returning. Within 48 hours of signing up for the job, we’ve collected the car and hit the road.
Torquay
We park the Tiggo on Torquay’s Esplanade, which has had a makeover since I last visited. Frenchy’s has new neighbours, Ela, a modern Greek taverna with chic terracotta styling, and the Pt Danger Beach House. The Pt Danger Beach House offers an all-day menu of things like anchovy toast and pickled muscles from nearby Portarlington served on outdoor tables under red and white umbrellas. The astro-turf terrace even has a few sun lounges pointed at the ocean.
It’s the perfect day for a drive. The sky is a winning shade of blue, the temperature is a gentle 25 degrees, and the sun is shining.
As we get back in the car, I tell Mum I’ve never charged an electric vehicle before, and I’m worried I’ll somehow mess it up. I’ve Googled recharge stations, and I know there are plenty around. But the day has just started, and the dashboard tells me I’ve got 1200km worth of range, so I decide charging can be a problem for later.
Anglesea
We leave Torquay for Anglesea, the next town along the coast, and stop at the charmingly folksy Anglesea General Store. We buy some yuzu StrangeLove sodas and wander up and down the boardwalk by the Anglesea River looking for fish as the sun dances off the shallow water.
Growing up, we spent many summers in various holiday rentals in Anglesea. They’ve all blurred into one orange-and-brown memory featuring stacks of board games with missing pieces and couches full of sand. The town has changed a lot.
Mum tells me about a new restaurant, Lovehouse, that has opened on the beach. (New to us, they’ve been around since 2022). There’s also a hip venue called Last One Inn, which offers modern Australian with a South American twist In Anglesea’s close neighbour, Aireys Inlet, Le Comptoir serves dishes like pork tenderloin with celery and Granny Smith remoulade, walnut and citrus vinaigrette. It’s a step-up from the potato cakes of my childhood. (Potato scallops if you’re in NSW.)
Aireys Inlet
At the next town, we make a stop to climb the sandy incline to the Split Point lighthouse. The lighthouse is best-known to millennials and their parents as the home of the jinxed Twist family from the early ‘90s series Round the Twist. Even if you don’t share this nostalgic pull to this stopover, it stands over a beautiful slice of coast and the rocky formation from which Split Point gets its name, and is worth a look.
Our shoulders now pink from the climb, we return to the car and head to Lorne. We have a 25-minute stretch of coastal road to navigate before we reach the next town, so here seems a good spot for a confession.
My own car is a small hatchback that was built during the Howard era, and I felt apprehensive about navigating a seven-seater along the blind turns and hairpin bends that make up the Great Ocean Road. I hadn’t accounted for the modern features. The Tiggo tells me when I’m drifting in my lane. It tells me when I’m going over the speed limit. It tells me when there’s a car in my blind spot. As we approach Lorne, my apprehension is long forgotten. Instead, I’m disappointed I’m going to have to go back to parallel parking without a rear camera.
There are various points to stop along the road and admire the view. We pull into a shoulder and take in the view: cliffs, waves and shimmering cerulean water as far as the eye can see.
Lorne
Lorne is what Instagram’s Valencia filter would look like if it were a town: carefree and nostalgic with an unmistakable patina of luxury. We park near the Lorne Theatre, a shell-pink Art Deco building that hosts films and live performances. The street-front concession store houses a local doughnut brand, Uncle Donut. With stores in Torquay and Lorne, Uncle Donut offers handmade doughnuts in essential Australian flavours like caramel Tim Tam and vanilla slice, plus dulce de Boston and apple crumble.
There are plenty of places to eat in and around the main drag, including Phoklore’s zingy Vietnamese, Captain Hooked’s classic fish and chips with bonus lobster roll and Margarita tuck-shop, and Mexican Republic’s top-shelf tacos and Mexican street food.
Lorne is home to Pier to Pub, which is a 1.2km open water swim from the end of the Lorne Pier to the Lorne Surf Life Saving Club. Afterwards, everyone crushes into the Lorne Hotel across the street.
The last time I went along – as a spectator – the skies opened, and huge raindrops torpedoed into our plastic cups of lemon squash. Most people were already soaked from the swim, so they didn’t mind the downpour. The pub is where Mum and I head for our lunch. It’s nearly 3 pm, but everything is open and bustling.
We order wood-fired fish with broccolini, salad and crispy roast potatoes. Mum requests a glass of Bannockburn Sauvignon Blanc, and when the server asks, I nudge her to the larger pour. She declares it is “sufficiently dry while fruity.” I stick to water, even though the Chery Tiggo practically drives itself.
From Lorne, we continue in the direction of the Great Otway National Park. As we approach Wye River, we spot an echidna waddling along the side of the road.
Wye River
Our goal was to try to make it to the Twelve Apostles, but as usual, my inability to grasp the scale of Australia has let me down. What looks like a small stretch of winding road on a map is, in fact, another two hours of driving.
Parks Victoria says it’s best to visit the limestone formations at sunset, when the sinking sun turns the yellow limestone a fiery orange-red. Sunset is around 8 PM, but we dawdled over our late lunch, and even though we could make it, we wouldn’t get back home until 11 pm.
We decide to retrace our steps. But one task still looms: recharging the car. We could make it home easily without recharging the Tiggo. In fact, the Tiggo 8 has a self-charging system, and indeed, the battery capacity has gone up over the course of our trip. But since this is a test-drive, I feel duty-bound to at least go through the motions. We head to a station in Torquay, and I discover I’ve made a grave error. The three charging stations Google had shown me in Torquay were in fact in Torquay, in the United Kingdom. Happily, there is one in Victoria’s Torquay. In fact, it’s perfectly placed at 1 Great Ocean Road. I quickly discover that recharging an EV is very similar to refuelling, and I feel silly for having worried about it.
We head back towards Melbourne and get lucky with the traffic on the M1. We’re home in time for dinner.
This article was written in partnership with Chery Australia. Learn more about Chery’s range of hybrids at cherymotor.com.au
Other cars in the range:
Tiggo 7 Super Hybrid
Hybrid powertrain: combines a turbo petrol engine with an electric motor for fuel efficiency.
Electric-only range: approximately 90 km for everyday commuting.
Total driving range: up to 1,200 km.
Compact SUV ideal for families and city commuters.
Includes modern infotainment smart features, safety, and driver-assist technologies.
Tiggo 9 Super Hybrid
1,250 km Combined Range
7-seater large SUV
